Istanbul (Turkey), Friday 13 September 2013: luck was unfortunately not with Team SBK Ducati Alstare today at the Intercity Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey. While taking part in the first practice session of this eleventh round of the World Superbike Championship, both Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini crashed, injuring themselves in the process.

This morning's first practice session took place in very warm conditions (30˚C air temperature, 44˚C track). The session was longer than usual, 90 minutes in length, in order to give the riders time to familiarize themselves with this new track. Carlos, after suffering a few problems early on in the session, was making solid improvement during the second half of the session, recording times that brought him close to the leading group but unfortunately, right after having registered his fastest lap of the session (59.2), the Spaniard was the victim of a nasty highside at Turn 2. He was taken to the Clinica Mobile as a result, where doctors diagnosed a contusion to the upper thorax as well as a possible fracture of the left scaphoid. Unfortunately Carlos will be unable to continue this weekend; further medical tests are required in order to establish when he will be able to return to the track.

Badovini made a good start to the session, immediately finding his rhythm on this new track. He remained in the top positions for the best part of the extended session but unfortunately, just ten minutes from the end and while in the process of making a very fast lap, he too crashed, losing the front at Turn 12. Having stretched the ligaments in his left ankle as well as suffering severe swelling due to a hematoma in the same ankle, it was decided that he would not participate in this afternoon’s qualifying to give the swelling chance to reduce. Doctors are however confident that Ayrton will be able to ride tomorrow.

The two riders finished this first session in tenth (Checa) and eleventh (Badovini) position.

Carlos Checa: “I have a lot of pain in the chest area on both the right and left side. I’ve also hurt my wrist but as there is already a screw there, resulting from an injury that dates back to 1996, it’s not yet clear whether I’ve now fractured it again or not. I obviously cannot ride in this condition; the doctors have advised me to rest up.”

Ayrton Badovini: "We had made quite a good start. There are a few things we still need to sort out but the session had been going fairly well until the crash, also considering that we were using a harder tyre solution that I normally have more difficulty with. We didn't need the crash of course, my foot was trapped between the track and bike but fortunately, thanks to my boot, the damage was limited. I have however stretched all the ligaments in my left ankle and broken a vein, which is the reason for the swelling. The doctors tell me that, as long as I rest up today and keep my ankle iced, then I should be a in a position to ride tomorrow - I won't be in great shape of course but I'll do my best."

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